How Telemedicine Equipment Can Enable Neurological Assessments at Sea

Oct 21, 2019
How telemedicine equipment can enable neurological assessments at sea
Telemedicine equipment is a useful tool for diagnosing patients. This technology is being actively used by large corporations to improve the quality of medical assessments and treatments in remote locations.

Many already know how telemedicine equipment can help treat noticeable injuries like broken bones, cuts, wounds, and more severe injuries caused by workplace accidents. The ability to provide effective care to injured individuals in remote settings can and do make a difference.

While this is an effective way to treat injuries and decrease potential downtime—can telemedicine kits enable neurological assessments?

Bridging the Gap Between Telemedicine Kits and Neurological Assessment

Head injuries are difficult to treat at sea and may require a company to sail to the nearest port to seek treatment for an injured employee. But is this always necessary?

A telemedicine kit can connect a doctor with a trained designated medical officer (DMO) to assess and make a diagnosis about a patient’s condition. Not only does this improve the outcome for a patient, but it can eliminate the need for a diversion.

For example: 
  • A crewmember slips on the deck and hits their head against the ship’s railing. The impact causes the sailor to lose consciousness, and there is a fairly large gash on the top of their head. 
  • The DMO is immediately notified, and they connect with a doctor through their telemedicine kit. The doctor asks the DMO to turn on the video feed so they can assess the patient. 
  • The doctor guides the DMO as they conduct several tests on the patient that they will use to make a diagnosis. 
  • Once complete, the doctor informs the DMO that there is no neurological damage and helps them through the process of treating the gash on their head. 
  • The injured sailor is escorted to their quarters, where they will recover from their injury.

In this scenario, the telemedicine kit enabled the DMO to connect with a doctor who was able to assess the individual and make a medical determination based on the evidence he saw. The ability to see the patient, their injury, and to communicate with them is vital in making the correct medical diagnosis, especially when it comes to neurological assessments.

Telemedicine devices do more than just assisting a DMO in treating basic injuries. They have the technological capabilities to allow a doctor to assess complex neurological injuries from a remote location.

The brain is a complex organ, and injuries that affect it are even more complicated. It’s important that you have the ability to communicate with a trained medical professional to reduce the likelihood of long-term injuries and other unfavorable outcomes.
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